ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Union Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates first ever ‘India International Cooperatives Trade Fair’; Says Cooperatives will play a key role in doubling farmers’ income & achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of 5 Trillion $ economy
 was inaugurated today by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The 3 day event is being held fromtoday till 13thOctober, 2019. As 94% of total farmers in India are members of at least one cooperative institution,IICTF is aimed at furthering Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government’s vision and goal of doubling farmers’ income by promoting cooperative-to-cooperative trade within India & abroad and promoting exports of key agriculture commodities and products leading to enhanced rural and farm prosperity.
Addressing the gathering at the inaugural ceremony, Shri Tomar said that today is a proud day for all as on this pure land of India, an event of this scale is being organised by NCDC along with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Ministry of Commerce. The Minister said that it is the result of all their combined efforts that we have witnessed such wide participation not just from Indian cooperatives but also from International ones from 35 countries across the globe.
Shri Tomar expressed happiness and said thatIICTFoffers huge opportunity for the industry and business houses from India and abroad to build alliances, business networking, product sourcing and above all, interacting with the primary producers of a wide range of products and service providers. The Minister said that this event will introduce Indian products to a wider Indian and International market and also provide an opportunity for participating countries to showcase their products in the Indian market.
Union Agriculture Minister further added that cooperation is at the core of Indian values and culture. He said that any cooperative, if has good cooperative feeling then no one can stop it from progressing but if the cooperative feeling is missing then it will be difficult for them to progress and prosper. Shri Tomar said that this event is a historic occasion for discussing threadbare the challenges being faced by Cooperatives across the nation. ShriTomar cited the example of Amul saying it is a cooperative which has succeeded in entering every home of the country.
In line with Government’s focus on programmes like Start-up India and Stand-up India aimed at young entrepreneurs with new and innovative ideas,National Cooperative Development Corporation has formulated YuvaSahakar-Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme 2019 which wasalso launched at the fair.SahakarBharati, the single largest organisation focusing on enlightening masses about the benefit of cooperative movement alsoshowcased and launched their brand ‘Simplydesi’ which will provide good marketing and branding opportunities for cooperatives.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
KVIC Launches ‘Terracotta Grinder’ at Varanasi to Re-use wasted pottery
Khadi and Village Industries Commission  launched a first ever ‘Terracotta Grinder’ at Sewapuri in Varanasi. This machine will grind the wasted and broken pottery items for re-using in pottery-making.
KVIC Chairman Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena said that earlier the wasted pottery items were grinded in normal khal-musal  and its fine powder was mixed with the normal clay. Mixing this powder in stipulated ratio to normal clay makes the resulting pottery items stronger. This Terracotta grinder will make grinding of wasted pottery items faster than the traditional mortar and pestle. It will lessen the cost of production, and will also help in solving the problem of shortage of clays. He said the cost of one tractor trolley of clay is Rs 2,600 in the Varanasi area. By mixing 20 percent of this wasted terracotta powder, the potter will make a saving of at least Rs 520. This will also create more job opportunities in the villages. The grinder was designed by KVIC Chairman, and fabricated by a Rajkot-based engineering unit
On this occasion, the KVIC Chairman also distributed 200 Electric Potter Wheels and other pottery machines among the villagers. This will not only create 900 new jobs, but will also meet the growing demand for terracotta products at Varanasi railway station following a direction by the Ministry of Railways to Zonal Railways and IRCTC to take urgent necessary action to ensure use of locally produced, environment friendly terracotta products like Kulhad, glasses and plates for serving passengers through all static catering units at Varanasi and Raibareilly railway stations.
This machine will be a boon for potters as Union Minister of MSME Shri Nitin Gadkari has proposed to introduce kulhads and other terracotta products at 400 prominent railway stations. The proposal is under active consideration of the Railways.
KVIC, as part of its commitment to Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, had also started manufacturing of plastic-mixed handmade paper at Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute , a KVIC unit in Jaipur under its project REPLAN . In this project, the waste plastic is collected, cleaned, chopped, beaten and treated for softness. After that, it is mixed with the paper raw material i.e. cotton rags pulp in a ratio of 80 %  and 20% . The institute has sold over six lakh handmade plastic mixed carry bags since September 2018.
Prime Minister's Office
PM congratulates H. E Petr Fiala on appointment as PM of Czech Republic
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated H. E Petr Fiala on his appointment as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;
"Congratulations, Excellency Petr Fiala, on your appointment as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. I look forward to working with you for further enhancing India-Czech ties."
Ministry of Power
India begins its journey in the large scale Battery Energy Storage System  for 1000 MWhourproject
Government invites expression of interest for installation
A path-breaking step to support development of RE
Government has given go ahead for inviting the expression of interest for installation of 1000 MWh Battery Energy Storage System  as a pilot project. This is the joint effort of both Ministry of New and renewable energy and Ministry of Power who have been working on this to provide a road map for the installation of the energy storage system in the country.
In order to support the ambitious goal of achieving 450 GW renewable energy target of Ministry of New and renewable energy by 2030, it is important that it gets duly supported with installation of energy storage systems .
Solar Energy Corporation of India , a CPSU under Ministry of New and renewable energy, has called for the expression of interest for procurement of 1000 MWh BESS. This will be published along with the RFS bid document and the draft comprehensive guideline for procurement and utilization of BESS as a part of generation, transmission and distribution assets and with all ancillary services.
This will be discussed in the pre-bid conference scheduled to be held on 28th October 2021 at 4pm.
Based on the suggestions and the feedback from various stakeholders, the final RFS document will be floated in the first week of November 2021, along with the final comprehensive guidelines for procurement and utilization of BESS as a part of generation, transmission and distribution assets and with all ancillary services.
Going forward, India plans to use energy storage system under following business cases:--
- Renewable energy along with the energy storage system
- Energy storage system as grid element to maximize the use of transmission system and strengthening grid stability and also to save investment in the augmentation of transmission infrastructure.
- Storage as an asset for balancing services and flexible operation. The system operator i.e. load dispatchers  may use storage system for frequency control and balancing services to manage the inherent uncertainty/variations in the load due to un-generation.
- Storage for distribution system i.e. it may be placed at the load centre to manage its peak load and other obligations.
- As a merchant capacity by the energy storage system developer and sell in the power market
- Any other future business models as a combination of the above.
Prime Minister's Office
PM congratulates Avani Lekhara for winning Gold Medal in shooting at Paralympics Games
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated Avani Lekhara for winning the Gold Medal in shooting at Paralympics Games in Tokyo.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;
"Phenomenal performance @AvaniLekhara! Congratulations on winning a hard-earned and well-deserved Gold, made possible due to your industrious nature and passion towards shooting. This is truly a special moment for Indian sports. Best wishes for your future endeavours."
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Union Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inspects and reviews cleanliness at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi
Cleanliness should be in our nature and in our culture, says Shri Tomar
Under the Swachchta Abhiyan, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inspected Krishi Bhawan today. In a meeting with the officers of all the ministries located in Krishi Bhawan, the Minister reviewed cleanliness and disposal of pending cases of various offices. Shri Tomar said, "cleanliness should be in our nature and in our culture. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has awakened the nationwide awareness for cleanliness, the results of which have also come to the fore and awareness can be seen spread widely."
Along with Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Kailash Choudhary and Agriculture Secretary Shri Sanjay Agarwal, senior officers of Agriculture, Rural Development, Consumer Affairs and Food Distribution, Cooperation, Animal Husbandry and other Ministries/Departments were present in the review meeting. Shri Tomar said, “what we expect from the public under the Swachchta Abhiyan should be followed in all buildings and office premises also. Everyone should pay serious attention to the importance of cleanliness.” Shri Tomar directed the officers of all departments that public grievances, parliamentary issues and other pending matters related to offices should be resolved at the earliest.
The officials said that a special drive for cleanliness is being run in Krishi Bhawan, under which old unusable files have been disposed and this work will continue even further. To maintain cleanliness inside and outside the building, special attention is being paid to cleanliness drive. Under the special campaign started from October 2nd, so far 4 truck scrap and other materials have been sent out of Krishi Bhawan.
Ministry of Defence
INDIAN NAVAL MEDICAL TEAM FROM WESTERN NAVAL COMMAND DEPUTED FOR PM COVID CARE HOSPITAL AT AHMEDABAD
As part of the Armed Forces contribution to civil administration in combating the current COVID crisis, a 57 member naval medical team consisting of four doctors, seven nurses, 26 paramedics and 20 supporting staff has been deputed to Ahmedabad on 29 Apr 21. The team will be deployed at the 'PM Cares COVID Hospital', a special hospital set up to manage the COVID crisis. The team is being deployed for two months period to begin with and the duration would be extended if required.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 180.13 Cr
More than 20.31 lakh Vaccine Doses administered in the last 24 hours
Recovery Rate currently stands at 98.71%
3,116 New Cases reported in the last 24 hours
India's Active Caseload currently stands at 38,069
Weekly Positivity Rate is presently at 0.50%
With the administration of more than 20.31 lakh Doses  vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 180.13 Cr  as per provisional reports till 7 am today.
This has been achieved through 2,10,85,852sessions. The break-up of the cumulative figure as per the provisional report till 7 am today include:
|
|
Cumulative Vaccine Dose Coverage
|
|
HCWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
1,04,02,622
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
99,84,407
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
43,10,000
|
|
FLWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
1,84,11,428
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
1,74,76,822
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
65,48,262
|
|
Age Group 15-18 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
5,58,71,085
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
3,37,70,605
|
|
Age Group 18-44 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
55,33,11,626
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
45,52,01,014
|
|
Age Group 45-59 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
20,25,29,223
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
18,27,29,190
|
|
Over 60 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
12,65,89,403
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
11,38,07,410
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
1,03,80,450
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
2,12,38,712
|
|
Total
|
|
1,80,13,23,547
5,559 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients  is now at 4,24,37,072.
Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.71%.
3,116new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
India’s Active Caseload is presently at 38,069. Active cases constitute 0.09% of the country's total Positive Cases.
The testing capacity across the country continues to be expanded. The last 24 hours saw a total of 7,61,737tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 77.85 Cr  cumulative tests.
While testing capacity has been enhanced across the country, Weekly Positivity Rate in the country currently stands at 0.50% and the Daily Positivity rate is reported to be 0.41%.
Prime Minister's Office
PM and U.S. President Donald J. Trump exchange greetings in the New Year
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and President Donald J. Trump of the United States exchanged New Year greetings in a telephonic conversation last evening.
They expressed satisfaction at the progress in India-U.S. strategic partnership in 2018. They appreciated developments such as the launch of the new 2+2 Dialogue mechanism and the first-ever Trilateral Summit of India, the U.S. and Japan.
The two leaders took positive note of growing bilateral cooperation in defence, counter-terrorism and energy and coordination on regional and global issues. They agreed to continue to work together for further strengthening India-U.S. bilateral relations in 2019.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Air quality in NCR, the daily average air quality for Delhi for the period between January – September' 2023 registers its best index as compared to the corresponding period during the last 6 years i.e., from 2016 to 2023
Continuing with the trend of an overall improvement in air quality in NCR, the daily average air quality for Delhi for the period between January – September' 2023 registers its best index as compared to the corresponding period during the last 6 years i.e., from 2016 to 2023 . The daily avg. AQI for Delhi in the above noted period during the current year has been recorded as 167 as against 184 in 2022, 180 in 2021, 188 in 2019 and 193 in 2018 respectively, during the corresponding periods.
The month of September, 2023 also witnessed the only “Good” air quality day  of the year on 10th September, 2023, co-incidentally on the final day of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
AQI is greatly impacted by the levels of rainfall/ precipitation and wind speed. September 2023 recorded a lower rainfall of total 82.7 mm as against 165 mm during the month of September, 2022. Despite this deficit of rainfall, the daily avg. AQI during the month of September, 2023 at 108, has been comparable with the daily avg. AQI of 104 during September, 2022.
Delhi witnessed highest number of days  with “Good” to “Moderate” air quality  during January – September 2023 as compared to the corresponding period for last 5 years .
“Good” to “Moderate” air quality days during this period in the previous years were only 146 in 2022, 174 in 2021, 165 in 2019 and 152 in 2018 respectively. This period in 2023 has also witnessed a remarkable reduction in daily avg. PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations over the last 6 years.
The period during January-August in 2023 has recorded daily average PM2.5 concentrations of about 73 µgm/m3 as against ranging from 82-95 µgm/m3 during the corresponding periods from 2017 to 2022 .
Likewise, the daily average PM10 concentration in Delhi has been about 169 µgm/m3, which is remarkably lower than a range of 183-215 µgm/m3 during the corresponding periods from 2017 to 2022 .
Favourable meteorological conditions, continual ground level efforts, actions by various stakeholder agencies to abate air pollution and ongoing monitoring and enforcement actions have helped to better air quality during 2023. The Commission further urges all agencies and stakeholders to effectively implement the directions / guidelines related to abatement of air pollution and the citizens to follow the Citizen Charter in this regard, in our collective pursuit for better air quality during the ensuing winter season.
Ministry of Finance
Customs Officers Seize Monkeys of Foreign Origin and Worth More than Rs 1 Crore from Mainaguri Area of North Bengal
Kolkata, May 11, 2022
Acting on casual information to the effect that foreign origin animal is supposed to be transported from Assam to Siliguri on May 8, 2022 in a Siliguri bound bus , the officers of Jalpaiguri Preventive unit of Commissioner of Customs Preventive, West Bengal moved out towards Mainaguri area and after waiting for some time the bus was spotted on the highway in Mainaguri area.
The bus was intercepted on May 9, 2022 at 3:30 AM in Mainaguri area. On searching the bus thoroughly three cage containing four monkeys believed to be of foreign origin and is assumed to have been smuggled from China or Bangkok or Australia to be sent to the Middle East countries were found kept in lower base dyke of the bus. When enquired about the ownership of said animals, no one came forward to claim.
Meanwhile, the bus driver and the khalasi fled away taking advantage of darkness. Since, the bus was full of passengers, considering the safety and security of the passengers, the Jalpaiguri Customs Officers managed a local driver and the bus along with the animals was brought to Siliguri.
Thereafter, the Customs officers contacted the Office of the Director of North Bengal Wild Park, Bengal Safari, Salugara, Siliguri. Accordingly, the animals were taken by the Customs officers to Bengal Safari to whom the animals were handed over.
Before handing over, the said animals were seized under section 110 of Customs Act, 1962 valued Rs. 1,10,00,000/-.  for illegal import of wild life into India in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 read with Section 111 of the Customs Act, 1962. Further investigation is in progress.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
CHILD BEGGARS
The Juvenile Justice  Act, 2015  is the primary law for children in the country. As per Section 2   of the JJ Act,2015, a child who is found working in contravention of labour laws for the time being in force or is found begging, or living on the street is included as a “child in need of care and protection”, among others. As per Section 76 of JJ Act, whoever employs or uses any child for the purpose of begging or causes any child to beg shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine of one lakh rupees.The Act provides a security net of service delivery structures along with measures for institutional and non-institutional care, to ensure comprehensive well being of children in distress situations. Primary responsibility of execution of the Act rests with the States/UTs.
The Ministry implements a centrally sponsored scheme i.e. Child Protection Services  under the umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme, for supporting the children in difficult circumstances including child beggars and destitute children. Under the scheme, institutional care is provided through Child Care Institutions , as a rehabilitative measure. The programmes and activities in CCIs inter-alia include age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counseling etc. The scheme supports 24x7 emergency outreach/ helpline service for children in distress conditions. The service is accessible through a dedicated toll free number, 1098 from anywhere in India.
The scheme inter-alia provided financial assistance for setting up of CCIs to the States/UTs either by themselves or in association with voluntary organisations. The details of fund released to States/UTs under CPS during last five years are Annexed.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has undertaken a pilot project for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons engaged in the act of begging in ten  cities; namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, Patna, Nagpur and Indore with the objective of identification, rehabilitation, counseling, skill development of beggars. It includes education of children engaged in begging/children of persons engaged in the begging.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Union Minister for Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras chairs meeting of Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee  through video conferencing
IMAC approves 7 proposals with total project cost of Rs.216.489 Cr. including grants-in-aid of Rs.52.767 Cr. in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, U.P. & Tamil Nadu
Union Minister for Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras, chaired the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee  meeting through video conferencing today to consider the proposals received under the Scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Cluster  of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana . Minister of State for Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel along with senior officials of the Ministry and promoters of projects were also present in meeting.
IMAC, in its meeting today, approved seven proposals with total project cost of Rs. 216.489 Cr. including grants-in-aid of Rs. 52.767 Cr. in the States/UTs of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. These projects will leverage private investment of Rs.163.722 Cr and are expected to generate employment to 12,400 persons & benefit 28,000 farmers.
The scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Cluster  has been approved on 03.05.2017 under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana  to incentivize the setting up of agro processing clusters in the country. This scheme aims at developing modern infrastructure to encourage entrepreneurs to set up food processing units based on cluster approach. These clusters will help in reducing the wastage of the surplus produce and add value to the horticultural / agricultural produce which will result in increase of income of the farmers and create employment at the local level.
Prime Minister's Office
PM shares highlights of the Karnataka Visit
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi visited Karnataka today. He shared highlights of the visit in a video.
The Prime Minister tweeted :
"Highlights from a special Karnataka visit…grateful to the people of Mandya and Dharwad for the warmth and affection."